“Enemy Dependency”

David Rothkopf, editor-at-large over at Foreign Policy magazine, sounds off on what he sees as America’s true vulnerability early in the 21st Century:

Since the end of the Cold War, America has been on a relentless search for enemies. I don’t mean a search in the sense of ferreting them out and defeating them. I mean that America seems to have a visceral need for them. Many in the United States have a rampant, untreated case of enemy dependency. Politicians love enemies because bashing them helps stir up public sentiment and distract attention from problems at home. The defense industry loves enemies because enemies help them make money. Pundits and their publications love enemies because enemies sell papers and lead eyeballs to cable-news food fights.

Rothkopf suggests it’s the inner fiscal and political rot – more than any external foe – that threatens the U.S. Amid the impasse over the budget, with sequestration looming, he may have a point.